Firefall || Fairy Tail

34 : a l e g r i a

The wannabe demons and creations that charged her didn't stand a chance. Verani was pissed, fighting half with anger and the other half with just pure adrenaline. She didn't have the slightest clue where Kia was at. There was no way she could find the Phoenix Slayer without the pink-haired girl giving her an answer.

"Buzz off!" She growled, zapping something that looked like a porcupine with spider-eyes into a puddle of ooze.

She also didn't have a clue where the asshole who had the Bane Particles was. Between Freed's description and what Kia had told her on the way back from Era, Verani had a pretty good idea what this "Tempester" looked like, but she had the same problem she had with Kia: she didn't have a clue where he might have been.

That was when she rounded another corner, finding a small girl standing in the center of the hall. She looked about ten with dull coal-like eyes. Her hair was black, cut at her shoulders with straight bangs. A pale rosy dress hung loosely around her petite frame, a round ornate mirror in her hands. But what caught Verani's attention first was the mark that rested under the girl's right cheek: the Tartaros guild mark.

The blonde fell back but she still threw her hand forward, electricity crackling, "Flash Bolt!"

The little girl, Chrystelle, didn't blink at the incoming spell. She only shifted the mirror in her hands, lining it up with the attack. And then it was gone.

The streak of lightning collided with the mirror, but it didn't shatter. The spell didn't even stop, rather continued into the reflective surface until it was out of sight.

"What the hell?!" V slid to a stop, suddenly aware that this girl might not just be one of the demons' lackeys.

A golden glow suddenly shone from the mirror before a burst of lightning magic shot back down the hallway toward Verani. The blonde quickly cloaked herself before zipping to the side, the reflected magic skimming her Lightning Body. Though her returned magic sent a small jolt through her, Verani didn't miss a step. She zigzagged toward the girl, closing the distance with a fist raised.

But she didn't connect with Chrystelle's cheek.

The mirror was omitting a faint white glow as an ethereal circular shape appeared, stopping her punch. V hissed as she felt her knuckles sink back in her hand, nearly far enough for the bones to break.

The blonde cursed in her head as she pushed back off the reflective shield to get some distance. There was still no telling what else this girl could do and Verani didn't have time to be messing around. With the lightning still crackling around her body, she ran along the wall. In seconds, she was leaving the dark-haired girl in her dust.

But she only got past her.

The ethereal mirror materialized again, blocking the entire corridor. Verani hit it hard enough that she shot backwards, her feet digging into the stone as she held her aching face.

"This is getting really old," she growled, peering through her fingers.

A soft, monotone voice responded, "No one is allowed past this point. Lady Kyoka would be very upset."

"Well, I really don't care about this Lady Kyoka or what she thinks."

The girl's face and tone still portrayed no emotion as her mirror began shining again, "You should care."

||~x~||

The air in the room felt so heavy on Kia's shoulders. The Underworld King just sat on his throne, amusement painted across his features. The pink-haired girl wanted to turn around and keep walking, but something else stopped her. Nestled in the crook of Mard Geer's arm was the reddish tome that had been alluding her since she woke up from coming through the Eclipse Gate.